Records not Races

Is the pursuit of Fastest Known Times the future of competition?

Rob Krar (middle, white tank), after setting the Rim-to-Rim FKT record in May 2012. Past record-holder Jared Scott (shirtless) was also part of the group.

Last Memorial Day weekend, Rob Krar didn't pin on a race number, lace up a chip or join a mass of runners at a starting line for a race. As many a Flagstaff, Ariz., trail runner is wont to do, he joined a couple of buddies on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon early that Friday morning to see just how fast they could run to the other side.

By 8:30 a.m. the trio had covered 21 miles, starting at 8,000 feet above sea level, dropping 4,800 feet, crossing the canyon floor, then climbing back up 4,800 feet to the South Rim. In the end, Krar, a 36-year-old pharmacist, made it first to the Kaibab trailhead in 2:51:28. The previous Fastest Known Time for that rim-to-rim route was 3:06:10, held by Jared Scott, who was one of the pack that day, too.

While Krar was aware of the previous record and the phenomenon of setting Fastest Known Times on trails around the world, it wasn't something he thought he'd do that day. After all, he'd never even run the Kaibab Trail before. But when he found himself alone, with an extra gear on the ascent up to the South Rim, he went for it. By the time he got home, his record had already hit the social media headlines in the ultrarunning and trail-running world.

"I thought it was exciting to do something I'd never done before," Krar says. "I went with no expectations–I was basing my run off of just trying to feel comfortable. That record comes down to the last four miles, really. It's just a matter of how you feel heading into that."

But the record attempt wasn't the sole reason Krar–and many other runners–decided to do the run.

"For me," Krar added, "the crossing of the Grand Canyon was a chance to hang out with some friends from town. It was the whole package that had me excited, as opposed to just the run itself."